I am enjoying a conversation over at Stan's about beer writing and criticism which turns on this quotation from English theatre critic Kenneth Tynan:

A critic’s job, nine-tenths of it, is to make way for the good by demolishing the bad.

Go have a read and add your thoughts, here or there as the question has been turned to include what it is that beer bloggers do compared to beer journalists. I am always interested in thinking about what exactly is this medium into which I type my thoughts. Do you think it is the equivalent of a critic's column in the arts section - or is it front page journalism..or personal essay or diary...or what? Does it matter at all or are the ethical minefields for each sort of writing so different that the label is critical.